Mononoke also became the highest-grossing movie in Japan until Titanic took over the spot several months later. Roger Ebert placed the movie sixth on his top ten movies of 1999. The film originated in 1980 as early image boards by Miyazaki. The theme song to Princess Mononoke (lyrics by Hayao Miyazaki / composed by Joe Hisaishi) featured countertenor Yoshikazu Mera, a decision considered controversial at the time, but has since become a classic. The advertising slogan used to promote the film is 'Live.' (生きろ。 Ikiro). Mononoke (物の怪) is not a name, but a general term in Japanese for a spirit or monster. It is a jidaigeki (period drama) set in late Muromachi period of Japan, and centers on the struggle between the supernatural guardians of a forest and the humans who consume its resources, as seen by the outsider Ashitaka. It is considered one of Miyazaki's masterpieces, taking sixteen years to design and three years to produce, with a recorded box office revenue of ¥19.3 billion yen, breaking box office records in Japanese cinemas at that time. ¥19.3 billion Princess Mononoke (もののけ姫, Mononoke Hime) is the 10th feature-length animated film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki and animated by Studio Ghibli for Tokuma Shoten, Nippon Television Network and Dentsu, and distributed by Toho.
